Here is our monthly (más o menos) newsletter to keep our friends and family updated on what is happening with Hope House Children's Relief (HHCR) and Hope House in Mexico. For those who don't know, HHCR is our not-for-profit 501(c)3 and all donations received are directed solely to Hope House (Casa Hogar Mi Esperanza en el Corazon) in Ixtlahacan, Jalisco, Mexico. The newsletter will provide updates on the boys - especially the new ones - a little insight into the staff, teams, vocational training, projects, and items of special interest. If you know of someone that would be interested in HHCR/Hope House, Mexico updates, they can subscribe here.

A copy of last month's newsletter can be found here. If you go to this website there is a link to all previous newsletters.

New Boy

Hope House welcomed a new boy into the family. His name is Dominic and he is one and half years old. So again it is back to diapers, bottles and special attention. He has been received with open arms by everyone and feels right at home now. Totally different to what he had before coming to Hope House. The photos below are of when he first came. You can see he looks rather bewildered.

This now makes seventeen boys, including Ulises who is 18 years old and lives in the Transition House.

The collage below shows how he has changed just within a couple of weeks. These photos are with Annel, the director, and her husband Ismael. You can see how he seems so much happier, and the love that Annel and Ismael have for this new boy. .The next photo is how his new "brothers" have accepted Dominic into their family. Posing with Dominic are Diego on the far left and Leo in the middle.

Below is a photo of Dominic prior to grooming. It is heart breaking to see a young boy like this have to enter Hope House but it is very heart warming to know that he has a place now where he can feel secure and loved, and have hope for the future. This is why we do what we do. You too can partner with us in the opportunity to give boys like this hope. We have made making donations as simple as possible with a variety of available options at this link..

The Boys Activities

There was another birthday again. This time it is Luis. The photo below is of Luis and his birthday cake.

Leo wanted a family photo. That is shown below. Unfortunately not all the boys are present. So it is only a partial family photo. But nevertheless, it is good to see family..

Words of Encouragement from Visitors

In the last couple of months a variety of new people have visited Hope House. The typical initial comment is "We are impressed". That is always good to hear for the staff since they are putting heart and soul into Hope House to ensure the boys have a safe and loving home. In our travels we have been to quite a few homes like this and we must admit, Hope House is impressive, another reason why we stay involved. This comment is usually followed by the visitors wanting to be involved in the future, financially or in other ways, as some of their other obligations ease up a bit. That also is encouraging to hear.

It is you, our regular donors, and new people like this that are helping HHCR fill budget shortfalls and help with projects, thereby taking the financial pressure off the administrative staff. They have enough to deal with raising this large number of boys spanning many ages.We are proud with the Hope House staff and want to do our best to help them financially as our much as our donor base provides the capability to do this. As our donor family grows, it makes it so much easier for us to take the financial pressure off the staff. Why don't you consider helping us in this endeavor.

In-house Tutor and Workshop Instructor

Hope House is extremely grateful for the response received in providing scholarship funds for the boys' education. One of the strains on the daily budget is tutoring boys in their regular schooling. The tutoring program is very successful, and the boys in this program are performing significantly better in school as a result. A tutor in the morning works with the boys attending school in the afternoon, and a tutor in the afternoon helps the boys attending school in the morning. The cost is $75 USD per tutor per week, or $150 per week for all tutoring. If you would like to help with this, it makes a huge difference in giving the boys hope for the future. Donations can be made here.
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Hope House is currently needing to add a teacher in the woodwork shop. Hope House has one of the most complete workshops in the area that is now primarily used to complete projects. We have been blessed with this workshop and it would be prudent and beneficial to use it for training the boys in carpentry, as there is always a market for young men skilled in carpentry in the area. Donations can be made at the same link above. Two classes per week, each of three hours, is the goal.

Sponsor a Child

Just to remind you that Hope House has a program available for donors who would enjoy sponsoring a particular boy. In this program a specific boy would be assigned to you. More information on how this program works, and how you can be part of it can be obtained by contacting Karlee here. This program is administrated through Shepherd's Heart Ministries, one of many partners supporting Hope House.

Financial Status

As mentioned before, HHCR recurring donations have almost doubled because of employer matching funds. To be able to bring in more boys, we have chosen to increase the monthly recurring donations goal to $4,000. This places monthly financial giving at 65% of our new goal. You can see that using a seemingly small thing like applying for matching donations through your employer can have a huge impact. We would love to achieve the new monthly goal so that Hope House will be able to take in more boys.

HHCR has been approved by PayPal as a legitimate 501(c)3 charity. This makes HHCR part of the PayPal Giving Fund. The impact is that all donations made through the PayPal Giving Fund are free of any fees. And since HHCR operates without any management fees, every dollar donated through use of the PayPal Giving Fund button goes 100% to Hope House. Some of our donors have already made use of this opportunity to donate to HHCR. Donations, including recurring donations can also be made via Clover Donations through our website, PayPal, bank transfer, or via check to our Laredo address. At this time the PayPal Giving Fund only works for one-time donations. Recurring donations can be made through the regular PayPal link.

You too can make a difference.

Even the smallest donation helps a boy have the safety, security, and love of a home environment, plus the education to succeed in life.